Knights Rally Late To Top Mets 9-7

(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) - With a four-run bottom of the seventh, the Charlotte Knights stormed back to defeat the Syracuse Mets 9-7 in the second game of their three-game series on Wednesday night at BB&T Ballpark.

Down 7-4 in the seventh, the Knights began the comeback on Adam Engel's leadoff single. Jon Jay followed with a single and Matt Skole walked to load the bases with nobody out. Daniel Palka plated a run on a fielder's choice and Seby Zavala added a sacrifice fly to cut the Mets' lead to 7-6. The next hitter, Alcides Escobar, lined a double to left, scoring Skole and Palka to propel the Knights in front.
The next inning, Palka drove in a key insurance run with a double into the right field corner to score Engel, giving the Knights a 9-7 lead.
 
After getting the lead in the seventh, the Knights turned to reliever Matt Foster (S, 2) in the eighth, and the right-hander pitched 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and one hit against to earn the save.
Early on, the Mets were in control of the game as Rubén Tejada's two-run homer gave Syracuse the early lead. Zavala tied the game in the second with a solo home run, his ninth of the season.
In the third, the teams traded runs to move the score to 3-3, with Charlotte's run coming on a towering 438-foot solo home run from Matt Skole, his team-leading 18th of the season.
Back-to-back home runs from René Rivera and Dilson Herrera regained the Syracuse lead in the fifth. Danny Mendick's ninth home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center, trimmed the lead to 6-4 in the bottom of the frame. Aaron Altherr restored the three-run lead for the Mets with a home run in the sixth. From there, the Charlotte offense rallied to earn the win and snap a five-game losing streak.
Offensively, Jay produced a season-high three hits while Palka, Escobar, and Engel all recorded multi-hit games. Engel added three runs and four Knights drove in two runs each in the win. On the mound, starter Colton Turner pitched 5.0 innings and gave up six runs, but struck-out a career-high nine Mets in a no-decision. Zach Thompson (W, 3-1) earned the win after throwing 2.0 innings from the bullpen. The win gives the Knights a 37-33 record at the halfway point of the season.
For Syracuse, Tejada hit for the cycle, becoming the second Mets player this season to accomplish the feat.
Charlotte and Syracuse conclude their series on Thursday night. Donny Roach (3-3, 6.10) is scheduled to start for the Knights. Pre-game radio coverage of the 7:04 p.m. game is set for 6:50 p.m. on 730 The Game ESPN Charlotte. The "Voice of the Charlotte Knights" Matt Swierad and long-time Knights radio broadcaster Mike Pacheco will have the call for all of the action.